Joseph F. Wehner Collection (Accession: 2000-10-16.431)

The Joseph F. Wehner Collection contains photographs and documents related to the life and World War I service of American fighter pilot Joseph Wehner of the 27th Aero Squadron. Materials include letters to his sister Hazel, correspondence about Wehner's death written to various members of his family, and photographs of his time in aviation training and on the front in France.

In addition to these personal items, the collection also contains ephemera related to Wehner and his friend and wingman Frank Luke, whom Wehner died protecting during an attack on German observation balloons. The pair’s military careers are discussed in newspaper and magazine clippings, as well as in materials written by the Champlin Fighter Museum in Mesa, Arizona. Taken together, the items in this collection give a limited but personal insight into the life of Joseph Wehner from approximately 1913-1918 and also documents the ways in which he was memorialized in the years after WWI.